Not Looking for Love: A Cowboy Romance

by Martini, Mae

  “Oh, Richie, before you sit, can you get me one of those kale smoothies?” Rachel asked.

  “Uh, my omelet will get cold.” He quickly looked from her to his plate as he sat down and began talking with his aunt.

  Kara laughed to herself as she looked to her own plate and picked up her fork. The nerve of that woman, especially since her hair was impeccable while her own hair was up in a ponytail, the humidity wreaking havoc. Rachel’s eyes were dramatically made up, while she was still wiping sleep from her own. And that loud noise coming from Rachel’s mouth was distracting from the beautiful sounds of the native birds except for that one Carib Grackle that was on the railing nearby. In fact, Kara amended her thought, the blackbird had a much better sound than what was coming out of Rachel’s mouth. She managed to tune her out when Richie introduced her to Will’s wife, Bridgette and his beautiful four year old twin girls.

  Kara panicked when Richie got up. Her eyes grew wide and she grabbed his arm.

  “”I’ll be right back. I’m going to get a bowl of oatmeal. Want anything?” he asked her.

  “No, thank you.” Just looking into his eyes eased her anxiety and she removed her hand and she nodded once.

  He brought a hand up to her face and caressed it. “I’ll be right back,” he said with a smile.

  She nodded and smiled.

  “So, Kara, is this your first time in Aruba?”

  Kara looked up to Richie’s father. “No, I was here for a weekend once about four years ago.”

  “How do you like it?”

  “It’s beauti—Ahhh!” She jumped when she spotted something scooting by her feet.

  She realized it grew quiet and she looked back up from her feet to see everyone staring at her. “Lizard.” She shrugged and chuckled as she felt her face redden.

  Everyone laughed. Richie’s father looked to the little blue lizard as it raced across the deck to an even bigger green lizard. “They’re harmless and all over the island, you’ll get used to them.

  She nodded.

  “Was that you?” Richie chuckled. “I heard you from all the way inside by the crepe station.” He sat down with a steaming bowl of oatmeal and a plate of blueberry crepes.

  “She saw a lizard and freaked out,” Rachel said, staring at the necklace around Kara’s neck.

  “Don’t worry, they’re harmless,” Richie said.

  Kara looked away from Rachel, wanting to put her hand up to her necklace but willed herself not to, and looked to Richie. “I’m not scared. I’ve seen them before. I just wasn’t expecting it, is all.”

  He threw his arm around her and pulled her in close and gave her a quick kiss. Kara peered over at Rachel, who watched the exchange with tight lips and quickly turned to Bella to ask her a question when she saw Kara watching her.

  During the remainder of the breakfast the men talked about their upcoming fishing trip the next day, Christmas Eve. Richie had already explained to Kara that the men go fishing every Christmas Eve and add their catch to the other fish they’ll eat for dinner that night.

  Kara sipped her coffee and listened. At one point Richie leaned back and turned to Kara. “Ready?”

  She nodded as he pushed his chair out and extended his hand to her. “We’ll see you later, Kara and I are going jet skiing.”

  Chapter 32

  Kara lay in bed a while longer after Richie left to go fishing, reliving the day before. After jet skiing Richie did a little wind surfing while Kara tried paddle boarding. She laughed to herself when she thought about the few times she fell off before she got the hang of it. That night they had shared an intimate dinner in their room and she presented him with two more wrapped presents. She got a kick out of his face when he unwrapped the one he chose. His eyes wiggled as he looked to her and he cooed ‘Oh, yeah’. In his hands was a package with three clamps attached to three chains connected to a metal ring. It took him less than a moment to realize that two clamps go on her nipples and the third one goes on her clit. He tore it open on his way to the bathroom to wash them.

  The clamps were adjustable. He started out on the lightest tension when he clipped them on her nipples as he kissed her all over her body. When his tongue flicked her clit he looked up to see her tightening the clamps. After he flicked and sucked her clit till it was big and she was on the verge, he placed the last clamp on it. She let out a scream but quickly a moan had followed along with a little shudder.

  He sat back on his haunches as he continued to play with her, dipping a finger inside her as he pulled on the chain and she screamed some more.

  “You seem to know your way around these,” Kara had said before she let out a low moan.

  He had looked up from her clitoris. “There was a girl, Paris, and—“

  “A summer?” she asked on another moan.

  He chuckled. “Two weeks.” He leaned in and kissed her breasts as he pumped his fingers inside her. His cock was hard, and his balls were starting to ache. He wasted no time in entering her. The two of them moved like jumping beans, slamming into each other as he tugged on the chain, and the moans and filth coming out of both of their mouths was enough to make a porn star blush. They didn’t last as long as they both wanted to, and when they both caught their breaths, Richie removed the clamps, kissing the areas to ease the pain.

  “This is a keeper,” he had said as he got up to go to the bathroom. He went back to bed and they fell asleep within minutes, very satisfied and wrapped in each other’s arms.

  She finally got up, showered and dressed, then headed down to the gym for a yoga class and then to a scheduled appointment at the salon for a blowout.

  The salon was busy. There were three cutting stations on one wall and on the flip side of that wall were three more, with entranceways on both ends of the wall. To the left of the cutting stations were three sinks. Kara had just finished getting her hair washed and as she sat up while the washer was towel drying her hair she heard women talking.

  “Don’t worry. Richie only likes them blonde and dumb for a good time. I should have mentioned you were coming again this year. He never would have brought that bimbo.”

  Kara looked to the source of the voice. It was Fiona.

  “I know. Did you see that necklace on her? It looks like a Richie special,” Rachel had said. The two girls cackled.

  “Nina will style, Ms. Storm. Please follow me to chair,” the hair washer said, in an accent as she placed a clean, dry towel around Kara’s shoulders.

  Kara looked to her and shook her head. She rose up and without saying a word, removed the towel from her shoulders and dropped it on the chair she just vacated, and walked, well, more like ran, out of the salon.

  Both Fiona and Rachel grinned to each other when they saw Kara get up and run out of there.

  “Fiona, I’m surprised at you. And you,” Bella addressed Rachel. “How dare you? You know nothing of my son, nor what he chooses to give women. For your information, he has been dating that girl for over three years and she means a hell of a lot more to him than being some bimbo, which I can assure you she is not.” Bella was furious at these two. She had seen Kara take a seat at the washing station as she was getting highlights done and knew she heard what the girls had said before running out of there.

  Rachel’s face dropped, she was speechless.

  “Aunt Bella, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were there.”

  Bella did a double take. “It’s not about me. You knew that girl was here and could hear you.” She looked to Rachel. “Your true colors show, dear. Put the claws back in. You have no chance with my son.” She turned and walked back to her chair on the other side of the wall, and her stylist continued to remove the foils from her hair. If it wasn’t the crucial stage in the highlighting process, she would have gone after Kara. She would look for her as soon as she was done here.

  Though she had just met Kara, she knew her son was seeing her for a few years now. For him to stick with her all this time meant she was special to him. Would it lea
d to anything? She couldn’t say, but anyone he showed interest in she would do her best to get to know.

  “Aunt Bella, I’ll go talk to Kara and apologize to her when I’m done here,” Fiona said as she stuck her head around the wall.

  Bella looked up from the magazine she was thumbing through without even seeing the pages. “You do that.” She dropped her head back down.

  Chapter 33

  “What? Why?” Kara was frantic as she looked from the flight attendant to the people closest to her on the plane then back to the attendant. “But I didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “Ma’am, if you don’t leave willingly, I’m going to have to call security.”

  “Well, then go ahead and call them. I did nothing wrong.” She began to lean back in her seat.

  “Fine.” The portly male attendant started to turn away.

  “No, wait, wait. I’ll go.” She rose up and pulled down her carry-on from the overhead storage and allowed him to escort her off the plane, questioning why as they went and feeling like a criminal with all eyes on her.

  “What about my checked luggage? How am I going to get that? You know, I paid for it already,” she said as the attendant pushed through one of the double doors that led back into the airport.

  “It’s right there.” He pointed to her large suitcase.

  She looked to it and did a double take. Standing right next to it was Richie. His feet crossed at the ankle and his arms folded against his chest as he leaned against the wall, his lips tight, his eyes scrutinizing her.

  They stared at each other. When the flight attendant left through the door she turned around to see it close. She looked around and noticed there was no one in the vicinity anymore. The passengers already boarded and the airline workers had moved on to another gate for the next flight out.

  She sighed as she looked to Richie and started walking over to him. “You did this? You got me thrown off of a plane?”

  He took a moment before he answered and even then he didn’t answer her question. “Where you going?” He still didn’t move.

  He was being uncharacteristically still, she was afraid he was going to lash out at any moment so she took a step back. “Um…” She swallowed. “I uh, I”m goin hom.” She swallowed the last two words, but he heard her.

  Still more silence. It was killing her, she was beginning to think him lashing out at her would be better than all this quiet. With nothing else to do and her nerves a mess, she grabbed the handle of her suitcase.

  “Leave it,” he said just as she was ready to pick it up.

  She looked from the suitcase to him as she jerked her hand back. All this quiet got to her. With determination this time she picked up the handle of her bag and began to turn it around. “Look, I’m going home and you have no right to stop me. I don’t belong here, and I should never—”

  “So, that’s it? You’re really going to leave without giving me an explanation?” He pushed off the wall when she began to walk away.

  “Kara?”

  She paused. “I’m not some blonde bimbo, Richie, and I won’t have you or anyone else think that.” Her voice was loud as she turned around, not realizing he was right behind her. “Oh.”

  He brought a hand up to her arm and with his other hand, he took the suitcase handle out of her hand.

  “I never said that, nor have I ever thought that of you. I’ve always thought you to be a very smart woman… though at the moment I’m questioning that.

  She gasped and tried to shake off his hand.

  “Kara, I know what happened. My mom was waiting for me by the front desk when I walked into the hotel. She had overheard my cousin and Rachel talking while at the salon.”

  “She was there?” Oh, now she felt embarrassed that his mom heard the girls talk about her.

  “Yeah. On the chair on the other side of the wall from the chairs Fiona and Rachel were sitting at.”

  Kara blew out a breath.

  “Kara, don’t leave? Come on? Those girls knew you were there and were fucking with you. Don’t let them win.” He watched her bite her lip and he knew she was working it out in her head. “Come on, it’s Christmas Eve. My parents are looking forward to getting to know you over dinner.”

  She looked around. The airport was becoming desolate. She probably wouldn’t be able to get another flight out till the next morning anyway. She slowly nodded. “Okay.”

  He smiled for the first time since getting the news from his mom and went to kiss her, but she backed up. “Kara?”

  “Oh, shit, Richie, I’m sorry. I just can’t get past the necklace you gave me, you know?”

  “Know what?” He shrugged. “I don’t know. What about it?”

  “I know, Richie.”

  “Kara, what are you talking about?”

  “I know you give those necklaces to all the women you see. And it hurts that you chose to give it to me too.”

  “I’ve never given that necklace to another woman. I’ve never given a necklace to any woman other than you, Kara.” His mom didn’t mention anything about the necklace to him, but he didn’t give her a chance either, he flew out of the hotel and ran to a cab idling at the station across the driveway to the entrance.

  She tilted her head to the side. “But Rachel said you give it to ‘all your women’.” She air quoted the last three words.

  “Think, Kara. I told you I only met her last Christmas. How the hell does she know what I give women?”

  “You don’t give them out?”

  “No.” He shook his head.

  When her shoulders sagged he took her in his arms. “I really did think of you when I saw it.”

  She blew out a breath. “I’m sorry, Richie. I guess I just became overwhelmed with meeting your parents, and then hearing your cousin and a girl you did talk about me. I don’t know I felt hurt, you know?”

  “I know.” He hugged her tighter. “Relax, Kara. My parents really want to get to know you. I’ve told them about you and how well you treat me, how much I enjoy being with you, and they’re thrilled to meet you.” He hugged her to him again. “I wouldn’t have brought you here if I wasn’t sure about you.”

  She hugged him tight and nodded.

  He pulled back to bring his lips down to hers and kissed her. When he broke the kiss he kept his lips by hers. “Come on, let’s go. I really need a shower.” He chuckled.

  She nodded. “Hah, you do smell like fish.”

  They broke apart and he grabbed her large bag with one hand and grabbed her hand with his other hand. “Didn’t you have two bags when we got here?”

  She shrugged. “Yeah, I guess it was too much to carry by myself…plus I was in a rush.” She didn’t want to tell him that the other suite case held the Christmas present she bought for him. She had left it in the closet for him to find before he left Aruba.

  Chapter 34

  Richie escorted Kara down from the deck into the sand toward the large rectangular table by the water. The sun was setting and thankfully the trade winds were mild, making for a pleasant evening. Kara originally planned on wearing a red lace top with a matching skirt showing a bit of her stomach. She opted instead to wear something more conservative, a pair of white shorts with a pretty black halter that came down to just about the bottom of her shorts. Her hair, because she never did get to the salon, was in a ponytail, beautiful long curls hanging down. She hated it, but Richie loved it so she left it alone. The necklace that she had left on the bed before she ran off to the airport sat securely around her neck.

  “Hi, everyone. Sorry we’re late,” Richie said as he pulled out a chair for Kara.

  His father and Uncle Ted rose up then sat back down. “You’re not late. We just got here too,” Richie’s father said. He smiled as he nodded at Kara.

  “Hello, Kara,” Bella said with a smile of her own.

  “Mrs. Warren.” Kara nodded.

  Bella leaned in and Kara mimicked her. “I’m glad you came back.”

  “Thank you. I’m
glad I did too. And thank you for sticking up for me. Richie told me.”

  “You’re welcome, dear. And please, call me Bella.”

  Kara nodded as she smiled.

  Once everyone was seated and each had a glass of champagne in their hand, Richie’s uncle made a toast then the servers brought over platters of fish.

  “Wahoo would have gone good with this meal,” Will said, amusement in his eyes.

  The men cracked up laughing. They had a running joke about not bringing anything home for the first time in fifteen years.

  “Oh, I forgot to ask you if you caught anything today,” Kara whispered to Richie. “I’m sorry you didn’t.”

  “Oh, no. I’m the only one that caught something today.” He pointed to a plate of grilled fish filets.

  “Yeah, he got lucky the last few minutes before we were going to head back,” his father said.

  “Not luck, skill.” Richie tried to keep a straight face before cracking-up.

  “I think it was the same one that ate my bait,” Will said, chuckling.

  Also on the table were platters of seafood salad, linguini and clams, fried shrimp, lobster tails, and stuffed calamari in a red sauce and everyone ate their fill. Topping it off was an array of scrumptious desserts. As the servers came by with after diner drinks, Uncle Ted passed around cigars.

  “Come on, ladies. This is where we take our leave,” Aunt Lucille said as she rose.

  “Come, Kara. We’ll go up to the bar while the guys puff away,” Bella said as she, too, got up out of her seat.”

  “Oh,” Kara said as she rose up and looked to Richie who rose up with her.

  “Uh, Kara, if you don’t mind, we’d like a word with you,” Uncle Ted said.

  Kara looked to him then to Richie whose expression she couldn’t read. Her stomach was in knots.

  “Kara, we’ll meet you up there, darling.” Bella said.